First Foundation Brings Bitcoin to Banking with NYDIG Investment

Smaller banks keen to stay ahead on the digital assets trend could follow First Foundation’s lead and seek more partnerships through strategic investments like this one.

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share
  • The investment will allow First Foundation to give NYDIG clients access to bitcoin-related financial products
  • NYDIG is the digital assets subsidiary of Stone Ridge Asset Management

First Foundation, a holding company whose subsidiaries include a wealth management firm and a bank, has made a strategic investment in bitcoin investment services firm NYDIG.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The partnership will allow First Foundation, which has bank branches and wealth management offices across California, Texas, Nevada and Hawaii, to give clients access to bitcoin-related financial products.

First Foundation is also working with payments processor Fiserv to allow customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin through its own banking platform. It’s less common to see such partnerships from small regional and community banks, but First Foundation “hopes to establish itself as a key resource for clients wanting to access and use digital assets” through its NYDIG partnership, according to a press release.

Historically, developments in digital banking have threatened smaller banks, many of which have maintained and continued prioritizing a branch strategy and were latecomers in providing sophisticated digital experiences for customers. They’ve also long maintained that fintech startups should be regulated like traditional banks to even the playing field (although nearly all of them partner with regulated community banks).

Smaller banks keen to stay ahead on the digital assets trend could follow First Foundation’s lead and seek more partnerships through strategic investments like this one. Alternatively, Visa now provides an API for its bank customers, in partnership with Anchorage, to allow consumers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin through their banks’ existing platforms.

NYDIG is the digital assets subsidiary of Stone Ridge Asset Management. It provides bitcoin investment and technology solutions to insurers, banks, corporations, institutions and high net worth individuals. 

Earlier this year it acquired analytics company Digital Assets Data to provide crypto data, research and analytics capabilities to its customers. It plans to make more acquisitions this year as it builds out its prime brokerage offerings.

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (1).jpg

Research

As AI supercharges surveillance, privacy becomes a prerequisite and the winning stack will combine confidentiality with selective disclosure. Zcash’s Tachyon, composable standards on Ethereum/Solana, and compliance-aware pools aim to make private rails the new norm.

article-image

The startup says it aims to rival Stripe and Worldpay by using stablecoins to speed merchant settlements from days to seconds

by Blockworks /
article-image

“S&P 500” for crypto comes as segment gains “established role in global markets,” S&P exec says

article-image

The S&P Digital Markets 50 Index combines 15 cryptocurrencies with 35 crypto-linked companies, offering investors hybrid exposure

by Blockworks /
article-image

Gnosis is betting that openness — not ownership — will define the future of onchain money

article-image

Crypto’s quest to imbue shareholder protections for tokens

article-image

Grass previously raised a seed and Series A rounds and plans to utilize the token purchase to execute on its roadmap